


A Single Variable

by robinlikeitshot



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: !!!!, Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Dragons, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Arranged Marriage, Dragons, Fluff, M/M, Royalty, look there's plot!!!!, sorta kinda based on Rapunzel, why are there different tags for that
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:49:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25919122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robinlikeitshot/pseuds/robinlikeitshot
Summary: Their kingdom had always had a rivalry with the Wayne’s, but Tim had always hoped that it wouldn’t come down to war. He’s not sure if this, he thinks as he glances down at the elaborate marriage proposal, is worse.
Relationships: Tim Drake/Jason Todd
Comments: 12
Kudos: 111





	A Single Variable

**Author's Note:**

> so this was actually my first shot at the Disney princess au for jaytimweek, but i kind of lost inspiration for it half way through writing it. I've got the whole outline down already though, so I thought I might as well post it as I might get around to finishing it at one point  
> Enjoy:)

Tim is puzzling over an incantation ritual’s pronunciation when his mother bids him to her chancery. 

He stares at the page who’d brought the summons to him, and the boy shuffles his feet under his scrutifying gaze. Because Mother never called him to her chancery. If she had anything important to tell him, she would inform him at dinner, with his father present. 

Tim got up, trying to think of what could have happened, and dismissed the boy before walking down to his mother’s door. Raising his hand, he knocks on the heavy wood before they’re pushed open. Walking in, he sees his mother looking more tired than he’d ever seen her and his heart drops.

“You called, Mother?”

She motions for him to take a seat, and Tim does, though somewhat hesitantly. He can count on one hand the number of times he’d been in this room, and it’s not something that sets him at ease. “Yes, Timothy. I wished to inform you of the developments that have occurred in our dealings with the Wayne Kingdom.”

Tim’s eyes widened. “Have they declared war?” It’s not too far of a stretch to make, what with how tense the relations between the two countries have been. At this point, the only thing keeping the two kingdoms from each other’s throats was a hair-string treaty almost dusted over with how old it was.

His mother shakes her head though. “No, not yet. There was a… well.” Tim’s brows raise as his normally articulate mother seems at a loss for words. “See for yourself.”

Tim frowns and picks up the heavy paper embossed with the Wayne seal. Eyes scanning over the page, mouth dry, he almost drops it with how fast he looks up. “They can’t be serious.”

“They’re completely serious. They want a truce in accordance with the Laws of Éros, so that our lands may prosper all the more together than unadjoined.” Her voice is laced with heavy sarcasm, but Tim can detect something else in there too.

“You’re considering it.”

“Of course I am considering it, Timothy,” she glares at him, and he realizes that he’s gotten out of his seat in indignation. He sits back down before she continues, “You would be married eventually, and you know just as well as I do that our kingdom cannot fight a war right now, much less a battle.” Tim bites back a response about how maybe they should have prepared for one instead of going on expedition after expedition and nods. Who’s he to deny dragonic instinct, after all.

“I know, Mother. I guess I am just… ill-prepared.”

She sniffs at him, pulling out the letter of acceptance that’s already been signed and stamped. “Well, you still have a month before the marriage takes place. I suggest you use the time to prepare yourself.” 

_________

After four weeks, and a careful study of Wayne marriage laws and customs, Tim stands at the altar waiting for his soon-to-be husband to walk down the aisle. 

The hall was filled to the brim with the people who’d come to observe the joining of the two warring nations, people who Tim was pretty sure were more excited about this wedding than he was. The hall itself was made over for the festivities, to such an extent that Tim had to wonder how long the Wayne’s had been planning this.

The music suddenly(at least for Tim) starts, a loud drum roll accompanied by flute and violin- not the most traditional, but enough that for a second Tim’d thought he’d started smoking with how hard he’d startled. Swallowing, he turns, along with the rest of the audience, to a figure in deep red walking down the aisle. 

He's really tall, is the first thing that comes to Tim's mind as he looks at the man who he's going to be spending the rest of his life with. As he comes to a still in front of Tim, Tim can properly take in his handsome features, teal blue eyes and lips twisted up into a scowl. 

There wasn't much information to be found out about the king's second son, not even on the streets of its own inner city. He had been rumored to be dead when he was younger, killed at the hands of the infamous outlaw, the Joker. But the man had made a comeback and been out of the public eye ever since.

The man who stands in front of them both begins reciting words as Tim continues to curiously examine his mate. He is taller than him, which pricks at Tim's pride in a way that he chooses to ignore- he is bigger than him in his true form, at the least. Jason also refuses to look at him, his eyes only for the reciting man, whom Tim has learned is named Alfred. 

When the man speaks the words Tim had memorized, he smiles prettily, though he sees Jason's eyes widen slightly at his sharp teeth, and says, "I do."

He repeats the same words to Jason, and he replies as well, albeit rather begrudgingly, "I do." Tim wanted to raise a brow at his dark glower at the audience at their applause. He hadn't wanted this wedding either, but for the good of his country he was willing to step up to the plate. He wonders what had made Jason agree.

There is a smattering of chatter in the audience, which quiets into a confused hum as Tim takes Jason's hand. Because if the union was to be official for both countries, it had to be binding by both nations.

It's not very complicated, and Tim incants the old words spoken by his family for millenium, words that may sound like gibberish to their nervous audience, but held more wells of meaning and symbolism then they had in their whole lives. Each time they were spoken, they grew heavier, and for a second Tim feels almost crushed by the weight of his ancestor's vows.

When he's finished, eyes wide and face flushed, Jason begins. He has a face understanding of the language, something Tim had been pleased to hear, but can't feel any of the words he'd had to memorize off the list Janet had sent. He finishes reciting, and Tim grins despite himself. 

He can barely hear the horrified gasp of the audience as he opens his mouth, shifting slightly out of his human form to breathe sparks and flame over his own. He sees the king jump out of his seat, the eldest prince running up to the pulpit- they must not have been made aware of this part of the proceedings. 

Finally, he stops, the fire of the bond wrung out of him, and smiles at his husband. His husband, who looks surprised at being perfectly whole and hearty despite just being set on fire. 

"A dragon's mate is immune to their fire," Tim explains, a bit sheepishly. "My apologies for startling you, I did not anticipate your unawareness."

The shell-shocked audience takes a moment, but eventually they gather their wits about them, dissolving into a mass of whispers. Tim turns to the man, Alfred, to again apologize because the man looks like he's just had a heart attack. 

Before he can, though, a hand clamps down on his shoulder, and another subsequently on Jason's. "Hey, Jase, new brother in law!" 

Tim turns his head only to see Richard Grayson-Wayne, the eldest son of King Bruce. He's classically beautiful, a faint aura around him that leads Tim to wonder if the man knows anything about the faery blood running deep in his veins. 

"Hello, Prince Richard. It's a pleasure to finally meet you," Tim holds out his hand, which the other man takes, albeit slightly hesitantly. Tim had just set his brother on fire, so he's not too offended.

"Please, just call me Dick," Dick smiles warmly at him. 

"Only if you call me Tim." Jason coughs a little next to him, reminding Tim that he's spoken more words with his husband's brother than his husband himself. 

Blushing a little at the misstep, he nods warmly at Dick, before offering his arm to Jason. It's a bit awkward, with Jason having to stoop down a little, but they are able to escape to the relative privacy of the hall without any further complications. 

They stop, and for a second Tim's tongue gets tied, as he looks at his beautiful husband. Then he remembers his manners and his lessons in human etiquette, and speaks, "You look even more beautiful than you did in the portrait your father sent." He couldn't go wrong with compliments, right?

Apparently he could. "Stuff the flattery, we're already married, aren't we?"

Um. "Yes? But, uh," Tim stumbled, as the man started walking down the corridor to where they would appear to begin the celebrations for the wedding. "Is it flattery if it is true?" He was fumbling. The words were light and delicate and Tim couldn't manage to wrap his tongue around them, and it made him want to cover his cheeks lest his blush showed.

"You don't have to do the whole," Jason waved his arms a bit, causing a few petals to fall out of his hair. "Courtship thing. Really, it doesn't matter."

He's gruff, still not looking at him, which makes Tim all the more confused. "You see averse to this union. May I ask why?" 

The man huffs, turning towards him. "I'm... It was necessary for both of us, me not wanting to get married to a random stranger had nothing to do with it."

Tim feels his heart sink a bit. He was ready for the word games and the fabrications and polite fallacies these people played, but Jason's bluntness was throwing him for a loop. "I understand?" He doesn't. "However I hope that in time we grow closer and at the very least become good friends." God, why was this so _hard_?

Jason side-eyes him. "Friends, huh?"

Tim nods, a bit desperate. It feels as if they've gotten off on the wrong foot, leaving Tim scrambling to get all his pieces in order again. "If you'd like."

"Hm. Sure, why not." It sounds sarcastic, and Tim would say something but the large doors that open onto the reception hall have been flung open, and the music's starting, so he merely offers the man his arm. He's thankful when he takes it.

**Author's Note:**

> pls feel free to share your thoughts down below!!


End file.
